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Day 16-17 Challenge: Reflect and Exploration!
Monday, March 26, 2018
Welcome to your last day of Quest!
Your challenges today:
Complete the Community Garden Quest Reflection. This will serve as an exercise that will allow you to practice self-reflection and it will serve as documentation for this quest. When you finish, put your Reflection on the Guide desk.
Water and maintain your garden, recording notes on growth and changes.
Go through each piece of your Binder Contents, planning how you will display it to your parents.
If you have time, you have an extra opportunity to dive into a deep exploration. You may:
Choose an activity from Gardening Projects for Kids by Jenny Hendy or the book The Garden Classroom: Hands-On Activities in Math, Science, Literacy, and Art by Cathy James
Choose an experiment we have already done and do it again, but this time improve your process.
Choose to make plant-inspired art (research artists Andy Goldsworthy, Georgia O'Keeffe, or Claude Monet for inspiration).
Make homemade chia pets. You can refer to the activities called “How to Make Your Own Homemade Chia Pet” on ConsumerCrafts.com and “Kids Crafts: Grass Heads” on RedTedArt.com.
Day 14 Challenge: Plant it!
Friday, March 23, 2018
Today your challenge is to:
Start your maintenance plan by following the Maintenance: Community Garden Leader Checklist with your team and begin making your observations.
Create a Plant Tracking Sheet that you keep in your binder for each plant you planted.
Begin making observations on your Plant Tracking Sheet—meaning that you’ll spend some time with your plants and notice something that is different or new. Document those differences and share them with your Seed Team. At the end of the day, you’ll share your observations with the whole studio.
Here are some observation examples:
Are there any new buds, flowers, sprouts?
If so, you might write down:“I have 3 new flowers, and 2 are wilting.”
How many sprouts do you have? How many did you plant?
If you had more sprouts than you planted, you might write down: “There are 18 sprouts and I planted 16!”
What colors of the seedlings?
You might write down: “The stem of the sprout is purple, and the leaves are green.”
Or “My leaves are turning yellow!”
How do they look compared to other sprouts?
You might write down: “They are thinner than carrots but taller than beets.”
What has the weather been like?
You might write down: “It recently got cold and has not been so hot in the day.”
Do they look strong?
You might write down: “The leaves are wilting and they don’t have enough water.”
Day 13 Challenge: Plant it!
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Your challenges today are:
Check on your Decomposition Experiments to see how they’re doing and to record your observations.
Complete the Planting: Community Garden Leader Checklist.
After you’re done planting, begin filling out the Community Garden Plant Tracking Sheets (at least page 1).
Have fun, gardeners!
Day 12 Challenge: Wood Wide Web
Monday, March 19, 2018
Your challenges today are:
To finish your Preparation and Building: Community Garden Leader Checklist by completing “Friend or Foe?” section.
Finalize your Garden Bed Planting Chart, so that Mr. Matt can purchase the plants you need for planting on Wednesday during Quest.
Today would also be a good day to revisit your butterfly habitat to see if you’re taking care of it properly or if there’s anything your Seed Team can do better to ensure a successful hatching!
If you finish these challenges before quest time is up, you can move on to researching the best ways to shelter your plants from the weather and begin coming up with a plan and a materials list so you can create your solution to this problem next week.
Day 10 & 11 Challenge: Guerilla Gardening
Friday, March 16, 2018
Your challenges are:
First, there is an important team-building challenge for you to complete! On the area where you want your garden to be, the guides have marked with paint stirrers (or stakes) a 16ft x 16ft square. This large square will be the size of our entire garden. Each Seed Team will get an 8ft x 8ft square within the garden, and within that square is where you’ll put your raised bed. The reason each team gets so much space is because as gardeners you’ll need enough room to tend to your garden without stepping on another one! Your team-building challenge is to go out as a whole studio to the 16ft x 16ft square and divide it into four 8ft x 8ft squares- one per team. Once you’ve figured out how to divy it up, you need to decide which team gets which square and figure out how to mark it with the appropriate Seed Team name.
Your next task is to check on your Decomposition Experiment to see how they’re doing and to record your observations.
Make sure your Worm Bed is ready for the worms to arrive next week.
Then, using the Preparation and Building: Community Garden Leader Checklist, begin the process of building your plant beds!
After this, locate your Seed Team’s wood frame. Stage 1: Building the Bed was completed for you.
You can move on to Stage 2: Site Preparation and Stage 3: How Much Mulch? when you are ready.beds were successfully built last time, you’ll move on to Stage 2: Site Preparation and Stage 3: How Much Mulch?
Day 9 Challenge: What's the Scoop with Worm Poop?
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Your challenges today are:
Observe your butterfly habitat to see if your butterflies are doing well and to make sure they are tended to as much as is needed.
Then, as a team, you’ll use the scientific method to learn which materials decompose and are helpful to plants, and which ones don’t and become plain old litter. You will be given multiple objects (bananas, plastic cups, and toilet paper), and you will test them in soil to see if they will break down. Record your findings on your Decomposition Challenge worksheet.
Once you’ve completed the Decomposition Experiment you can begin vermicomposting! Follow the instructions on What’s the Scoop with Worm Poop? to create a composting system for your garden! For some inspiration before you get going, as a team, watch this cool video called “Vermicompost - Life in the Compost Bin”!
Day 6 Challenge: Beautiful Pollinators
Monday, March 12, 2018
Your challenge today is:
“Invent” a model of your own fictitious flower as a team, as described in the “Background Information,” “Pollinator Flower Preferences,” and “Exploration” sections of the Petal Attraction activity from KidsGardening.org. This activity will lead you through learning more about major pollinators and will prompt your group to invent new species of flowers that will attract certain pollinators. At the end of the day, you’ll share your flower inventions with the group and everyone will try to guess the purpose of the parts of your flowers.
All models must:
consist of unique petals, pollen, pistils, and stamens (the basic parts of all flowers)
be made of recycled classroom or natural materials
be a minimum of 6 inches in diameter
Beyond these characteristics, you can let your imaginations run wild, perhaps including:
Invent a flower that might entice an unsuspecting human to pollinate it.
Invent a flower that can pollinate itself with the help of gravity.
Invent a flower that could easily be pollinated by the wind.
Invent a flower that will make a pollinator think it's approaching a fellow insect.
Invent a flower that would force bees to follow a particular route in and out, touching the anthers and stigma on its way.
Invent a flower that would attract a pollinator with a long beak.
Invent a flower with an anther that can easily be "tripped" and sprung by an insect, releasing pollen.
Decide how to present your flower inventions to the studio. You might choose a spokesperson or make a creative group presentation. Then, the studio can guess the purpose of the different structures of each invented flower.
Once you’ve completed the activity, you’ll move on to setting up your group’s butterfly habitat for the Butterfly Pollination Challenge. Every Friday you’ll tend to and observe your caterpillars to see how they are doing. Each person on your team should have their own worksheet to fill out, though you will be sharing a habitat. If you still have time after completing both activities, you can test your pollinator knowledge by playing the NOVA game, Pick the Pollinator.
Day 8 Challenge: Where Will We Grow?
Friday, March 9, 2018
Your challenge is to:
Use the Planning: Community Garden Leader Checklist and Garden Chart to plan your Square Foot Garden as a team.
To learn more about Square Foot Gardening, you can spend time on the Square Foot Gardening website. We’re using this method because it’s an easy way to get a garden going and to divide responsibility among many individuals!
There are 16 plots in your garden and each plot will house a different type of plant. (That is to say, we won’t be growing carrots and tomatoes in the same plot, but they might end up in adjoining plots!) Each person on your team will be responsible for a certain amount of plots. Divide your 16 plots amongst your teammates evenly.
Example:
Day 7 Challenge: Sow What?
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Your challenge today is:
To decide what you want to grow in your Seed Team’s garden. On the tables in the studio, we have a variety of plants for you to choose from. Using the Sow What? Worksheet (one per person on your team), fill in the taste, smell, and appearance of each type of plant. Don’t taste the flowers, though! This worksheet will help each person in your group decide which items he or she wants to plant.
When you’re done with Sow What?, you can work on completing the Where Will We Grow Best? worksheet. Outside you’ll see 3-4 potential sites marked. You’ll use the Where Will We Grow Best? worksheet to research those sites and determine which of the three is best for our community garden. Later, during the daily debrief, you’ll present your findings and the whole studio will vote on the final location.
If you enjoyed the carrot video from the launch and enjoyed learning about where certain types of food come from, you can find other videos in the same series, called the Eat Happy Project.
Day 5 Challenge: What's in a seed?
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Your challenge today is:
Watch this video: “Got Seeds? Now Add Bleach, Acid, and Sandpaper.”
Then set up a germination experiment that includes testing various scarification methods, using the Community Gardening Quest - Germination Challenge worksheet.
After that, you get to create a plant light maze! Though the experiments will be set up as a Seed Team, each team member will fill out his or her own worksheet to record findings and observations.
Day 4 Challenge: Layers of Soil
Friday, March 2, 2018
Your challenge today is:
Watch these videos to learn more about: “Who Needs Dirt?” and “The Dirt on Decomposers”.
Once you’ve finished watching the videos on your own, you can play the PBS Kids Game called Break It Down.
Then sync up with your team members to begin the soil-test experiments on pages 3 through 5 of the California State University document called “Estimating Soil Texture: Sandy, Loamy or Clayey?” You’ll use this worksheet called Soil Identification Challenge. Though the experiments will be set up as a Seed Team, each team member will fill out his or her own worksheet to record findings and observations.
Day 3 Challenge: Capillary Action
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018
Your challenge is to conduct an experiment to learn about why plants need water and how they get water into their stems, which is called Capillary Action! Just like with the photosynthesis experiments, you will use parts of the scientific method.
Before you begin, go online to the activity called “Suck It Up: Capillary Action of Water in Plants” and read the sections titled “Background,” “Procedure,” and “Make It Your Own.”
Using the information on the website and ideas from the “Make It Your Own” section, conduct the experiment. The Capillary Action Challenge worksheet will guide you through this process! Though the experiments will be set up as a Seed Team, each team member will fill out his or her own worksheet to record findings and observations. If you still have time when you’re done with your experiment, you can put the final touches on your plant-cell model!
Day 2 Challenge: Photosynthesis
Monday, Feb. 26, 2018
Your challenge today is to learn about photosynthesis! First, watch these videos, on your own, so you can hear everything.
“The Simple Story of Photosynthesis and Food” (TED-Ed)
“Nature's Smallest factory: The Calvin Cycle” (TED-Ed)
“Vegetation Transformation: Crash Course Kids #5.2” (YouTube)
Your next challenge is to conduct experiments as a team. But first, you need to understand the Scientific Method very clearly. Watch this video as a team and make sure everyone understands the steps:
“The Steps of the Scientific Method for Kids - Science for Children” (YouTube / FreeSchool)
Challenge 2 is to act like real scientists by completing the Photosynthesis Challenge Worksheet. This challenge will take 7 days to complete -- So if you are diligent, you will be able to finish it one week from today. While you complete the experiments as a Seed Team, each team member will complete their own worksheet.
If you have questions about the terms representing each step of the scientific method, here are some additional resources:
Day 1 Challenge: Plant Cells
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018
First, watch this Welcome Video from Farmer Clay.
Welcome to the Community Garden Quest! Your Seed Team will go through these challenges together. To get your team going, first:
Choose one member of your team to be your Seed Team Garden Leader. This person will manage your checklists and tasks and help guide your team through each challenge.
Choose one member of your Seed Team to serve on the Excellence Committee. This should be someone who can be trusted to hold standards high for every team in the Quest. This person can speak with Mr. Matt today for further instructions.
Challenge One will bring you deep inside a plant, to the cellular level! It has two parts:
Everyone on your team complete the Plant Cell Game tutorial and game.This will test your knowledge of plant cells. Once finished with #1 ...
As a team, create your own large-scale model of a plant cell! World-class examples are here. Your requirement to request supplies from the Quest Materials area is a clear explanation of what role that item will play in your plant cell model.
Criteria for completion are:
All organelles must be represented and labeled.
Your model must be large enough to clearly see all of the organelles and labels.
Your model must be your best possible work.
Present your excellent, completed work of Challenge One to the Excellence Committee to earn you your first sunflower piece for the Quest Map.
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